The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-282872 filed on Sep. 18, 2001, including the specification, drawings and abstract, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
1. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to fender structures of motor vehicles, and more particularly to fender structures of motor vehicles, such as automobiles, in which a fender is mounted on a structural member of the vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A fender structure of a motor vehicle, such as an automobile, in which a fender is mounted on a structural member of the vehicle is known.
In the known vehicle fender structure as shown in FIG. 6, a support panel 102 is disposed on an apron upper member 100 as a structural member of a vehicle, such as an automobile. The support panel 102 includes a vertical wall 102A, a stepped portion 102B formed on the vertical wall 102A, a holding portion 102C formed on the stepped portion 102B, and a holding claw 104 formed above the vertical wall 102A to extend from the stepped portion 102B upward while being inclined toward the inside of the vehicle as viewed in the width direction of the vehicle. A vertical wall 106A of a fender 106 is supported between the holding portion 102C and the holding claw 104. The height of the holding claw 104 is set smaller than that of the holding portion 102C of the support panel 102. When a load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the vertical wall 106A of the fender 106 from above by a collision body S, the vertical wall 106A slips off the holding claw 104 of the support panel 102 to move inward in the width direction of the vehicle as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6. As a result, adjoining portions of the fender 106 and a hood 108 easily deform downward so as to absorb the energy.
In the fender structure of the vehicle, however, a large stress may be applied to an outer wall 106B of the fender 106 and cause damage to the outer wall 106B, when the vertical wall 106A of the fender 106 slips off the holding claw 104 of the support panel 102 as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6.
It is one object of the invention to provide a fender structure of a motor vehicle, which is able to effectively absorb impact energy without causing damage to an outer wall of the fender.
To accomplish the above and/or other object(s), there is provided according to a first aspect of the invention a fender structure of a motor vehicle which includes a plurality of energy absorbers that absorb impact energy applied to the vehicle, at different stages upon a collision of the vehicle with an object.
When a load (or impact) is applied to the fender structure from above, the plurality of energy absorbers provided in the fender structure absorb impact energy at different stages or step by step. Thus, a large stress is prevented from being applied to the fender, and the impact energy can be effectively absorbed without damaging an outer wall of the fender.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a fender structure of a motor vehicle, which includes (a) a fender having a vertical wall portion, a mounting portion adapted to be mounted on an apron upper member of the vehicle, and an inclined portion formed between the vertical wall and the mounting portion, the inclined portion extending downward and inward as viewed in a width direction of the vehicle, (b) at least one first rib formed on a lower surface of the inclined portion of the fender such that the at least one first rib faces the apron upper member, (c) at least one fragile portion formed at a boundary between the vertical wall portion and the inclined portion, and (d) at least one second rib formed on a portion of the vertical wall portion of the fender which is located upwardly of the apron upper member, so as to extend in a vertical direction of the vehicle.
With the above-described fender structure, when a load is applied to the fender from above, the inclined portion of the fender is further inclined toward the apron upper member. As a result, the first rib formed on the lower surface of the inclined portion so as to face the apron upper member is brought into abutment on the apron upper member, and deforms to thereby absorb the energy. Subsequently, the fragile portion formed at the boundary between the vertical wall portion and the inclined portion of the fender breaks down to thereby further absorb the energy. Thereafter, the second rib formed in the vertical direction at a portion of the vertical wall portion of the fender which is located above the apron upper member is brought into abutment on the apron upper member, and deforms to thereby further absorb the energy. Thus, the impact energy acting on the fender can be absorbed at different stages or step by step, thus preventing a large acute stress from being applied to the fender all at once. Consequently, the impact energy can be effectively absorbed without damaging an outer wall of the fender.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the first ribs, the fragile portions, and the second ribs are arranged at certain intervals in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle to be located at predetermined positions of the fender so as to provide a predetermined energy absorbing capability at each of the predetermined positions. With this arrangement, an impact acting on an object can be effectively reduced, for example, even when the object is an adult pedestrian or a child pedestrian.